How a two-engineer project at Facebook changed everything

Hiten's Pick

How a Two-Engineer Project at Facebook Changed Everything

Julie Zhuo shares the story about how a small, two-engineer project in the early days of Facebook ended up dominating the entire photo-sharing landscape in the late 2000s. Facebook Photos didn't have crazy bells and whistles, but it did have one unique feature: photo tagging. That was enough to make it the most popular photo-sharing service on the Internet in just a few short years.

Julie said this story reminds her about a fundamental product truth: "It is not about how many features you add or how much work the team did. What matters is: Did we understand the users' needs well enough to give them what they wanted most?" If you do this well, you can win—no matter how small your team is.

Business

The 4 Types of Defensibility

Back in the late '90s, Intuit Co-founder Scott Cook found himself on the boards of eBay and Amazon simultaneously. Jeff Bezos took Scott out to dinner to warn him that Amazon would be launching an eBay killer and he might want to leave the eBay board because they were going to be toast. But Scott knew eBay had a durable advantage. This is a fantastic read about the four types of defensible competitive advantages your business can have—and how to carefully choose one for your company in advance.

Watch a Monkey Equipped With Elon Musk's Neuralink Device

Can you imagine watching a monkey play Pong with only its mind? Elon Musk's Neuralink just released this video, which demonstrates exactly that. The implications of this are mind-blowing. Musk hopes that, down the road, the product would help make it possible for paraplegics to walk again. What do you think about Neuralink's future?

Product

A Guide to B2B SaaS Onboarding

Most companies don't have a fortified onboarding process. At some point, it breaks down. This comprehensive guide walks through how you can fix your onboarding, keep your team aligned, and help customers extract value out of your product more quickly. One unique suggestion: Stop using email during customer onboarding.

How Did Microsoft Make Flight Simulator Seem So Real?

I didn't realize it until I read this article, but Microsoft's longest-running product line is Flight Simulator. The new version of it came out last August and the much better detail, texture, and lighting make it feel so real. Here's how Microsoft did it—and what it means for the future of gaming and virtual reality.

Marketing & Sales

How To Use FOMO To Increase Conversions

Using the "Fear of Missing Out" as a motivator to help drive conversions and product usage is effective, but not always ethical. This guide walks you through how you can gently nudge people without unintentionally causing harm. I'm a fan of calling attention to rewards and gently reminding people about limited availability. Check out the full list of suggestions here.

Yeti's VP of Marketing on Entering a New Product Category

Yeti is a beloved brand in the high-quality travel mugs and coolers space. But recently, it expanded beyond those categories with a new line of luggage. Yeti's marketing lead, Paulie Dery, explains how the company made the transition and how it fits into Yeti's overall marketing strategy.

Growth

How Amazon Built Its Growth Ecosystem

In 1994, Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com and it quickly became successful. But, it wasn't until 2001 when the company finally became profitable. Many people questioned the business model, but Bezos never strayed from his belief that growth should be at the center of Amazon's company strategy. This is an illuminating look at how the trillion-dollar company built its impenetrable growth flywheel.

International Growth Is No Longer Optional for SaaS Companies

When starting a SaaS business in the U.S., expanding to international markets is rarely considered an urgent priority. Many companies don't think about it until Series D or later. But, given that 95% of the world's population lives outside of the U.S., it's worth thinking about and planning for international growth well before your company needs it. Here are five simple steps you can take to get started and accelerate growth in new markets.

Management

Every Successful Leader Shares This Trait

Shreyas Doshi shared one of my favorite tweet storms this past week. In it, he talks about the attitude he's seen in every successful product manager and leader he's met: high agency. This quality is about finding a way to get what you want without waiting for conditions to be perfect or otherwise blaming circumstances. Can you spot this quality in your favorite talents?

What To Do When Your Engineering Team Is Struggling

This is an interesting thread of tweet responses on what to do if you're a new engineering manager for a team that's struggling. How do you boost morale and help your team succeed? I really like Lesley Braxton's suggestions. Of them all, I think the two most important things are transitioning 1:1 with every member of your team and creating a development path for everyone.

Insight of the Week

Define Your Company Culture in Writing

Jessica Verrilli makes an interesting point: "Every startup hits a point when you have to start to write things down and define aspects of the business that, previously with a tiny team, are just understood or intuited." One of those things is culture. As soon as you can, define what your culture stands for in writing and figure out how to embed the very best aspects of it in everything you do.

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How a two-engineer project at Facebook changed everything